Food and dementia!

Dietitian.Lauren Hmede
Apr 7, 2019
1 min read

The Surprising Food that Could Cut Your Dementia Risk by 50%

People who suffer from dementia begin to feel as they lose their memory, ability to reason, word recall, and ability to plan or organize. You need to know that food choices play a key role in preventing dementia and lowering the risk.

According to a study done eating more mushrooms could help to protect your brain from cognitive impairment. The researchers found that those people who had the highest intake of edible mushrooms also had the lowest risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Astonishingly, the researchers found that eating two or more servings of mushrooms per week was sufficient to reduce the risk of mild cognitive impairment by 50 percent. They believe that a compound known as ergothioneine (ET), a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compound found in mushrooms which is respnsible for the impressive results.

ET may not be the only factor as mushrooms contain a diversity of healing compounds known as hericenones, erinacines, scabronines and dictyophorines, all of which could contribute to the growth of brain cells.

It is not clear which component is responsible for lower dementia or maybe all components but the idea is to start adding more mushrooms to your diet.

-Add a handful of button mushrooms to your favourite soup.

-Stuff mushrooms with other delicious foods and herbs.

-Top a salad with some raw mushrooms.

-Replace meat like beef with grilled Portobello mushrooms for a delicious plant-based burger.

-Sauté onions and mushrooms for a delicious side-dish or to serve over a soup or salad.

-Add mushrooms to kebabs for grilling.

-Add mushrooms to stews